Life on the rock farm

Chapters

Chapter 1: Made a new friend
Chapter 2: Founding of the rock farm
Chapter 3: A hard day's night
Chapter 4: A lead?!
Chapter 5: High or low
Chapter 6: Separated
Chapter 7: Lack of sleep
Chapter 8: The parting of ways

Chapter 1: Made a new friend

Pinkie Pie just took an ordinary stroll through the strawberry fields with her sisters. They were joyfully hopping around, deciding on what to do.

“I know! Let's play Hide and Seek!” Inkie suggested.

Pinkie gleefully shouted: “Ooh! Ooh! I wanna be it! I WANNA BE IT!”

Her sisters simply laughed at her demeanor: “Of course you're it. You are just way too good at hiding. Neither of us has even found you once.”

“That's because of my super-duper secret hiding places. You're not supposed to find them, since they're hiding places, duh.”

“Awww, you have to show us!” both sisters demanded.

“But that wouldn't make them secret anymore.”

“Pretty please?!” Blinkie tried to convince her big sister with a big smile.

“All right, one of these days I'll show them to you. But enough chit-chat. It's not say-time, it's playtime!”

And with Pinkie's demanding words Inkie and Blinkie ran off to obscure themselves.

The pink filly patiently and slowly counted down from twenty – after all games were no fun if you tried to cheat. “...three, two, one. Ready or not, here I come!”

She immediately went into that happy bounce she had perfected for the Hide and Seek game. It did give her an ideal opportunity to look over the strawberry bushes with every hop. Since the strawberry fields were pretty vast, there were only a few good hiding spots. Pinkie knew she just had to check them one by one and she would eventually find her sisters.

She came by a rock formation, that was notorious as one of Blinkie's favorite hiding spots. She slowly sneaked up on it. Then with a giant leap she flung herself towards her sister, letting out a big “Gotcha!”. Or at least where Pinkie expected her sister to be. Blinkie didn't hide between the rocks, but Pinkie could hear her sister's familiar giggle close by.

Now she knew that Blinkie was in a nearby tree. Pinkie didn't want to catch her sister immediately though, as it would inevitably upset her. Instead, Pinkie just pretended not to know and started to speak aloud her every thought.

“Oh, she isn't here. Where could she have gone instead. Maybe she burrowed herself in the ground.” Pinkie began digging the ground. The tittering from the tree slowly grew louder. Pinkie let out a huge fake gasp: “What if Blinkie got turned into a strawberry by an evil magician? Quick strawberries, if one of you is Blinkie please blink twice!”

The giggles turned into all-out laughter, as Blinkie tumbled from the tree branch she was sitting on: “No fair!”

Pinkie came over with a huge grin: “Now you have to help me find Inkie.”

They were quickly devising a strategy for finding their sister, when suddenly Inkie shouted out to them: “Guys, come quick! I found something!”

* * *

The three fillies were looking at a small creature, that looked like a ball of blue fur with big shiny eyes. It had two pairs of dragonfly-like wings and four stumpy legs.

“Wow it's so cute!” both Pinkie and Blinkie proclaimed. “What do you think it is?”

“I don't know,” Inkie answered. “but it sure looks hungry. Hey little friend, you want a strawberry?” She picked a strawberry and offered it to the little critter.

“Don't, Inkie!” Blinkie advised. “They're not ripe yet.”

“I'm sure he doesn't mind.” The small animal devoured the fruit in a single bite. “See? I think he wants more.”

The three sisters each gathered a handful of strawberries and returned to the creature. It instantly ate them all and affectionately began nuzzling the cheeks of all three little ponies.

“I think he likes us. Do you think father will let us keep it?” Pinkie asked.

“Maybe, but we have to be careful how we ask him. Why don't we...”

A familiar voice reached out for the three little fillies: “Pinkamena, Aosuke, Akabei, dinner is ready.”

“Coming, mother!” all three siblings shouted in unison.

* * *

“What is that thing?” Martha Pie demanded to know.

Inkie explained: “We don't know. We found it in the fields. Can we keep it? It's really tame and we promise to take care of it all on our own.” The three fillies supported their plea with a beam each.

Martha smiled back: “Allright, I'll talk to your father. But first we'll have dinner. Aosuke please bring your little pet friend up to your room. And don't leave the window open, otherwise it might fly away.”

“Will do, mother!” Inkie happily announced, then continued to walk up the stairs.

“Now Pinkamena, Akabei please help me set the table.”

* * *

Clyde Pie returned from his trip to buy some farm supplies for the upcoming harvest. Upon entering his home he was immediately greeted by his wife and his three wonderful daughters.

“Daddy's home!” the three of them cheered.

“Hello girls, I missed you.” he said. Then he gave a welcoming kiss to his wife, before suggesting: “Why don't we have a seat and eat dinner.”

The table was practically overflowing with all the delicious treats Martha always prepared for her family. There were mashed potatoes, a collection of cooked, steamed, and fried vegetables, freshly baked bread, a number of rissoles, and most importantly her world-famous strawberry cheesecake. It always sat there, almost taunting everypony and making them impatient for the dessert.

“So, what have you girls been up to?” Clyde asked.

His wife answered for them: “I sent them to the southern field to check on the plants. They're all doing fine. After that, they just played around some. Isn't that right girls?”

“And we found some strange little animal,” Blinkie added.

“Blinkie!” her sisters immediately shushed her.

Martha quickly took over: “The girls wanted to talk about something with you, dear. You see, they've found some little critter and wanted to keep it as a pet.”

“What is it?” Clyde wanted to know. “A lizard? A stray cat?”

“No, it's a strange furry flying creature. Maybe you've seen it before.”

Clyde halted for a moment to think. “You girls have always taken good care of the plants. And it would probably be good to teach you some responsibility. I'll allow it.”

All three fillies jumped up to give their father a hug. “Thanks father. You're the best.”

Their father gleefully reminded them: “Now girls, you know you're not supposed to get up before a meal is finished.”

“Yes, we know,” they giggled right back, before sitting down to finish their meal.

* * *

Right after dinner, the Pie sisters went upstairs to their bedroom. They searched for their new pet right away.

“Now where could the little fellow have gone to?” Pinkie inquired. They all inspected the room more thoroughly.

“Found it!” Blinkie reported after a moment.

“Me too!” Inkie announced.

“Me... wait, what?” Pinkie shouted in disbelief.

Simultaneously they all turned around, each presenting one of those strange little creatures they had found that afternoon. Additionally to the blue one they were expecting in their room, they also had a red, and a brown one.

“Where do you think the other ones came from?” Inkie wanted to know.

“I don't know,” Pinkie responded. “Isn't it great though? Now we all can have one.”

“Let's go outside and see if we can teach them any tricks,” Blinkie suggested.

Pinkie reminded her: “The sun is just about to set. It's almost bed time. I don't think mother and father will allow us to go outside.” After all, the Pie family motto was “early to bed and early to rise”.

“Girls, can I come in?” Clyde asked through the door.

“Yes, father,” they answered.

“Now let me see those critters I heard so much about.”

Pinkie presented the small flying animal to her father. It began snuggling his mane with a soft purr.

“What an adorable little creature! I don't know what it is, but it's obviously harmless. Now I expect you to take good care of them. And remember, it's almost time for bed.”

Thus the three sisters only had a little time to play with their pets, while they got ready for bed. Each of them fell asleep cuddling with one of their new animal friends.

* * *

As almost everyday, Clyde Pie was the first family member to get up. As everyday he washed himself, got dressed in his work clothes, and took out his watering can to water the strawberry bushes first thing in the morning.

But this was no ordinary day. Clyde went outside and instantly dropped the watering can from his mouth in shock.

Chapter 2: Founding of the rock farm

Gone.

It was all gone.

Every leaf, every seed, every fruit. Everything was gone.

Clyde Pie went back inside, closing the door, hoping that by some miracle or by some twist of fate, when he looked outside everything would return to normal.

Of course it wouldn't. Eventually, he would have to turn around, go outside, and cope with reality. He let out a deep sigh, gathering up all his courage, and reopened the door.

Everything looked so barren, cleansed of all life. The strawberry bushes had been picked as a whole, leaving no part of the plant behind. Even the nearby trees where stripped of all their leaves. Clyde thought about scanning the whole field to find some seeds or some other plant parts that could be regrown, but he decided it would be a futile effort. It was evident he couldn't regrow the farm from what little there might have been left.

Clyde simply went back inside and woke up his wife: “Martha. Martha, honey. We need to talk. Something terrible has happened.”

* * *

“What are we going to do?” Martha wailed.

Clyde tried to reassure his wife: “First of all we need to calm down. Everything is going to be okay. But we have to think of a way to tell the kids. We mustn't let them worry too.”

Martha suddenly started to scream: “How can you say that? Nothing is okay. We literally lost everything we had.”

“Honey please, if you would relax we could...”

“Don't you tell me to relax!”

* * *

Pinkie Pie woke up from all the commotion downstairs. Still sleepy-eyed, she went to the kitchen to find out what the fuss was about. She saw her parents in a heated argument.

“What's going on?” asked Pinkie.

Both parents turned to her daughter with a big, forced smile. “Hey sweety, did we wake you up? I'm sorry,” Martha tried to console. “Why don't you go back to bed. We'll wake you when breakfast is ready.”

“Okay,” Pinkie agreed, as she rubbed her eyes.

She slowly climbed the stairs before a sudden realization awoke her instantly. “Brownie! Where is Brownie?” She shot up the stairs, her parents trailing right behind.

Her father looked at her with utmost confusion. “We didn't have brownies in weeks. Why would you look for one?”

“Not a brownie, Brownie! My fuzzyfly!” All the uproar had now woken up Inkie and Blinkie as well.

Clyde caught on. “Oh you mean that pet you found. Wait a minute! What do you mean by “my”? You're supposed to share with your sisters!”

“But father,” Pinkie explained as she frantically searched the room for her pet, “when we got back to our room we actually found three of them. So we decided to take one each.”

As the other two sisters realized what was going on, they began searching too. “Blueie and Redie are missing too,” Blinkie cried.

Clyde thought to himself: “Could this be a coincidence? Unlikely! But what could three tiny creatures possibly have done to a farm as big as ours? Darn it, I should have found out what they are before allowing our girls to keep 'em.”

Meanwhile Martha was comforting the wailing children: “Now, don't cry girls! I'm sure they're still around here somewhere. They couldn't have gone far. I'm sure we'll find them eventually. But we shouldn't go looking on an empty stomach. Let's have breakfast first.”

* * *

The atmosphere at the breakfast table was considerably more tense than it had been the evening before. Luckily, Pinkie Pie's natural talent for cheering up ponies soon helped to bring at least a little smile on the face of the three fillies. Pinkie Pie kept telling her sisters they would find the little creatures with so much hope in her voice, that Clyde almost believed it himself.

Once the breakfast was finished all three sisters immediately went for the front door. Without a moment of hesitation, Clyde jumped up to block their path. He again put on a big forced smile before announcing: “Girls, there's something I need to tell you.”

“What is it father?”

He took a moment to think what he was going to say next. “You see, something happened to the farm. Last night, after you went to sleep, some pony came over and bought all the strawberries, including the plants. And since we don't have any more plants to take care of, your mother and I decided we should... start a... rock farm! Yes, sales on rocks are skyrocketing these days.” The more he talked, the wider and faker his grin grew.

“A rock farm?!” all three of his daughters asked in disbelief.

“Yes, a rock farm. And we have a lot of work cut out for us, in order to get this farm going. We should immediately start. You have time until noon to search for your pets. Meanwhile I will go to town to get some supplies. After that I will probably need your help on the rock fields.”

The three fillies had a suspicious look on their faces. But in the end they all nodded – after all, they did want to find their pets as fast as possible. The three of them rushed out the door.

Martha and Clyde remained behind in the doorway. “Really Clyde? A rock farm? You know the kids aren't stupid. They've probably figured out it's a lie already.”

“Please Martha, just stick with it. Keep 'em occupied while I go to town. I just need a little time. First I'll return all the farm supplies I've bought yesterday. Then I'll go to Golden Toe. He has to help me. I'm sure he will, after all we have been business partners for years. I'll earn a couple of bits in some job until the wost is over. By then I'll have something figured out.”

Martha let out a deep sigh. “I trust you completely. If you say it will be all right, it will be. Please, before you go let me pack you a couple of sandwiches, just in case you don’t make it home by noon.”

* * *

Clyde Pie entered the store, dragging behind the supplies he had bought the previous day. The pony behind the counter, presumably the owner, was the same one he had met the day before.

“Good day to you sir!” the farmer pony began. “You see, I've been to your store yesterday and...”

“Yeah, I remember you,” the owner replied.

“You do? That's great. You see, I've come to return the farm supplies I bought yesterday.”

“Certainly. Do you have a receipt?” the owner responded with an evil grin.

Clyde looked at him with surprise. Surely there had to be a misunderstanding. “What do you mean by receipt?”

“Well, if you bought these at my store you should have a receipt.”

“I've thrown the receipt away as I exited the store. But you know I was here yesterday buying these things. You admitted that you remember me.”

“Yeah, you did buy this kind of supply from my store yesterday. But how should I know, that those are the same that you bought from my store. For all I know they could be cheap imitations and you're trying to rip me off.”

There was no obvious flaw in his twisted logic. And after all, Clyde couldn't rely on any guard ponies to resolve the situation, since he did indeed not have a receipt anymore.

“You must be joking! Look I really need my money returned for these supplies. You have to help me out.”

His smirk became even more menacing. “Tell you what: I'm a nice guy, so I will take all these back for a generous 80 bits.”

“But that's not even a third of what I paid!”

“That's my offer. Take it or leave it. The way you look, you should take it.”

Clyde considered his options. He did grow desperate. Despite the confidence he showed towards his wife, he knew there were tough times ahead. Times, when probably every bit would count. He should really take that offer. He really should...

No! He shouldn't! “I will not succumb to your dirty games! I would rather starve to death than fall for your shady blackmailing scheme. Farewell sir!”

And Clyde Pie left the store, leaving the owner completely flabbergasted.

* * *

Next Clyde would talk to Golden Toe. They had been business associates ever since the strawberry farm had started. The Pie family sold all their strawberries to Golden Toe, who consecutively would sell them in market stands all over town. Clyde was sure to find him in his downtown office and indeed he did.

“Hello Mr. Toe.”

Golden Toe welcomed him politely: “Greetings Mr. Pie. How are you? How is the family?”

“We're all fine, thank you.”

“Unfortunately I don't have much time to chat. So, what brings you here to my office.”

Clyde was starting to feel really awkward, as if what he was doing was a confession he had owed his business partner for quite some time. “Ummm, it's actually about the farm. When I woke up this morning, I noticed that all the strawberries were gone. We pretty much lost everything we had, and I was hoping you...”

Golden Toe interrupted him with a stern voice: “You're telling me you lost all your strawberries.”

“That is correct, sir.”

“So, you're telling me you won't deliver any strawberries to me this year?”

“Unfortunately yes, sir.”

“How dare you?!” the business pony suddenly started yelling at Clyde.

That caught him completely by surprise. “Excuse me, sir?”

Golden Toe continued the shouting: “How dare you lose those strawberries! Those were my strawberries! Do you have any idea how much money I will lose on this?”

“Sir, I don't think you fully understand what this means to me and my family.”

“Oh, I do! I understand, all right. You mess up big time and try to turn your problem into my problem. You owe me. You owe me everything. And I will take it back.” Golden Hoof looked out the window. “I think we will take your cart as your first payment.”

Clyde got completely furious. He wouldn't let anypony treat him that way. “I don't owe you anything! And I will certainly not allow you to take anything from me that is rightfully mine! I thought since we've been partners for so long you would care for me a little, maybe even consider yourself my friend, but if you treat my like that I will simply take my business elsewhere.”

His former business partner started to speak calmly again: “But I will take your cart. Perhaps you'd rather talk this over with my associates.” He called in two muscular ponies, who were his henchmen.

Clyde couldn't do anything about it. There was standing up to your principles, and then there was not waking up in a hospital with a dozen shattered bones. You never want to mess with two ponies that have a weightlifting and a boxing glove cutie mark.

Without uttering another word Clyde Pie left the building, without his cart.

* * *

The day kept getting worse and worse. Clyde was about to leave the town with even less than he had before. With his head and his ears held down low, he was practically scuffing the streets of Baltimare.

Suddenly an unfamiliar voice called out to him: “Hey you, looking for a job?”

Chapter 3: A hard day's night

The search was fruitless. It was impossible to find three flying creatures in an area of several dozens of hectares of land. Inkie and Blinkie were pretty upset, but this wasn't the first time Pinkie managed to put a smile back on their faces. She told her sisters that the “fuzzyflies” probably wanted to go back to their families. She guessed that was why the two others had come, to search for Blueie. Despite the depressing sight of the “rock farm”, the three fillies still managed to have a good time, making up fairy-tales about their lost animal friends, as they wandered around.

Noon came. There was no sight of Clyde. As Martha had already anticipated this, she told the girls they would simply have lunch without him.

After lunch everypony started the work on the rock farm. Martha advised her daughters to move the pebbles from the eastern field to the southern filed, since over there they would get more sun. This harmless exercise would keep the girls busy for a couple of hours. Her husband had told Martha she should stick with the whole rock farm story, so that is what she would do.

In the end, rocks were no fun! Fun probably wasn't the first word that came to mind when thinking about strawberries, but it was much more entertaining to take care of a couple of berries than of a couple of pebbles. Pinkie's doubts about the idea of a rock farm grew, as she tended to the rocks. She couldn't really tell why, but there was a completely different feel to it. The strawberry bushes reacted to her in some way. They seemed happy when they got sun, relieved when they got water, and scared when it got dark. The rocks on the other hoof gave away no reaction whatsoever. But in the end Pinkie trusted her parents. If they said rocks needed to be moved, she would help to move them.

* * *

The sun was almost setting. The pebbles had been shifted for quite a while and Pinkie, Inkie, and Blinkie had started goofing off. They did enjoy their leisure, but none of the three fillies could really put their heart into it. The loss of their pets, the tardiness of their father, and most of all the massive change of scenery wore heavy on their mind.

Pinkie approached her mother, who was emptily staring down the road towards the city. “Mother, why hasn't father come home yet.”

Martha set up that fake smile she was slowly getting familiar to. “I'm sure he just ran into one of his friends while in town and he forgot the time, while they were catching up. Your father is really excited about the new rock farm. He would probably tell him all about it.”

“Mother, is there really...” The pink filly stopped. Suddenly her mother looked very tired.

“What is it, sweetie?”

“Nothing. Do you think I could help you prepare dinner?”

“That would be lovely. But before that tell your sisters they should stay close to the house. I want to keep an eye on them from the kitchen window.”

* * *

For the most part Baltimare was just one big port. There were other important harbors in Equestria, namely Manehatten and Fillydelphia, but none of them depended on sea trade as much. Some experts predicted this would inevitably be the city's downfall and actions had to be taken preemptively, but the politicians reacted slowly to these claims at best. Among these docks Clyde Pie found himself hired as a stevedore.

Clyde asked his new co-worker: “I still don't understand. How exactly does this work? That other guy told me next to nothing.” The stallion that approached him had only told him, that there were always more ponies needed at the docks. Once they arrived in the dock area, he was assigned to the stallion he was now talking to.

“Basically we sit around and wait until a ship arrives. The overseer then calls a couple of us over there, to move crates from the ship into the port's warehouses and vice versa. You have to make sure the overseer catches your name, otherwise you won't get paid.” The veteran dock worker made a small pause. “Now for the actual work: we usually work in teams of two. One pony secures the load on the other one's back. As a newbie, you will probably have to carry the loads. Don't forget, for the heavier loads you will have to use the pulleys. If in doubt, use the pulleys. Believe me, I've seen enough newbies break their backs on their very first day.”

“Give me a place to stand and with a lever I will move the whole world,” Clyde said, more to himself.

His co-worker just gave him a confused look. “We're here. Let me introduce you to the others.”

* * *

There had been other times her father had been gone all day, but this time was different. Her father had never been this late and Pinkie also noticed how her mother was nervously glancing out the window at any given opportunity.

Pinkie offered her mother to help with the dishes, but Martha refused. She wanted to be left alone for a while and the pink filly could sense it.

Her sisters also had been awfully quiet at the dinner table. Pinkie wanted to be a good big sisters and try to put their minds at ease, but she had no idea how to do it. She didn't even know how to calm her own mind. Just strolling around the farm made her feel uncomfortable. Despite all the strange events that had occurred it still felt like it wasn't over. It kind of felt like they had just reached the eye of the storm.

Pinkie, like her sisters, decided to have an early night. Hopefully her mother would do the same.

* * *

“Ten bits?! I worked my flank off all day for just ten lousy bits?!” Clyde barked. Ten bits. That would mean a full workday would add up to twenty bits. That wouldn't nearly suffice to feed a family of five.

The day had been tough. For six hours straight he had been hauling crates from one end of the dock to the other. Long Arm, his co-worker had finally introduced himself, wasn't kidding about the pulleys. Every muscle and every bone in his back ached. Clyde might not have been the sturdiest of ponies, but still the farm work required a lot of physical strength, so he thought he would be prepared. What got to him was probably the lack of breaks. There had been some, basically whenever there was no ship around, but they were short and very sporadic. He couldn't possibly imagine to do this for an entire day.

Long Arm came over to comfort him. “I'm sorry Clyde, but this is pretty much what your first days will be like. The pay will gradually increase over time. They do this to separate the weak from the strong. You see, once you've worked here for a month, law requires the employers to cover for any injuries induced during work. Well until then...” Long Arm hesitated for a moment. “Here.” He handed Clyde five bits. “I know it's not much, but hopefully you can put it to good use.”

Clyde was unsure if he should take it. It felt awfully wrong to rely on the pity of those around him. But if the next days would be anything like this one he would badly need the money. And he would probably continue to work as a stevedore, since he didn't know what else to do.

“Thanks, Long Arm. I... I will definitely pay you back.” That promise sounded empty, even to his own ears.

“Don't mention it. I've been there myself. You shouldn't let selfless pride stand in the way of supporting your family.”

“You're right. Thanks again. I probably need to get home. What time do I start tomorrow.”

“Didn't the overseer tell you?” Long Arm knew this was a sign that the forepony didn't think Clyde had it in him. Clyde would have to prove otherwise. “We start at half past six. You should be punctual or you will get by-passed by the overseer.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

They said their goodbyes and Clyde tried to hurry back home to his family.

* * *

It must have been long past ten o'clock when Clyde Pie got home. His entire family was already sound asleep. He carefully sneaked in, checked if there were any leftovers from dinner (thankfully there were), and then he just hit the hay.

So much had changed on this day. There was much to think about. But the farmer pony put all those thoughts aside, for he would have to get up early tomorrow. It only took him a couple of moments until he fell asleep.

Chapter 4: A lead?!

Today was a school day. Normally their father would take them to school, but when Pinkie woke up he had already left for town. Walking to school with their mother was a rare occasion. It only increased the uneasiness she was feeling.

At school the three sisters split up. Blinkie would return home with her mother, and Inkie and Pinkie would go to their respective classrooms. Maybe a day of learning could ease the pink filly's mind.

Pinkie, of course, was very popular among her classmates. She had shared plenty of laughs with every single one of them. But when it came to sharing her troubles with them, she would refuse. She only talked to her family, especially her sisters, about her problems and worries. However, this didn’t seem to be an option this time around. Her sisters were suffering from the same distress, and as a big sister she insisted on being their tower of strength – not the other way around. Pinkie hadn't seen her father for an entire day and the following days wouldn't be very different. That only left her mother. She remembered how she wanted to ask her mother about the rock farm, and that deep empty sadness that seemed to radiate through the air at that moment. In the end Pinkie decided she would just have to swallow her sadness.

* * *

The second day of work, whilst physically much more exhausting, was much more enjoyable for Clyde Pie. He had started to connect with his fellow dock workers and they shared quite a lot of stories. During lunch break the others asked him, how he got to be a stevedore like the rest of them. They listened carefully, as he recounted all the events of the past two days. He didn't want to leave out a single detail, especially about those strange creatures his daughters had found. He couldn't shake off the feeling, that they played a significant part in the loss of his farm. His co-workers neither knew the animal he was talking about, nor had they any idea what might have happened to his plants. Clyde figured that half of them probably didn't believe a word he said, but were just too polite to say anything.

The others also shared various stories about their past and about their experiences as stevedores. It seemed like a well rehearsed ritual they always went through, when someone new joined the circle of dock workers.

One particular story intrigued the farmer pony. It was Long Arm's tale, of how he ended up at the docks after he lost his entire belongings in a fire. He also had three foals and a wife at home, fully dependent on his income, since his wife had suffered a number of burns during that same fire, leaving her unable to work. He too struggled for a couple of weeks, but eventually things worked out, also thanks to the support he had gotten from his fellow co-workers.

A thought just occurred to Clyde. He had just assumed complete responsibility for what had happened to the farm. While Martha had worked on the farm just as hard and much as he had, it didn't feel right for him to let his wife search for a job. Maybe it was because the strawberry farm actually had been an inheritance from his wife's side of the family. Maybe because he already owed Martha enough for giving him three wonderful daughters. Or maybe it was just because it was time to pay her back for everything.

His thought process was precipitously ended, when the overseer called all of them back to work. There was still half a day of backbreaking labor before him.

* * *

The next couple of days were all the same. Getting up, going to school, listening to lectures for a couple of hours (occasionally dozing off), returning home, working on the rock farm, keeping her sisters company, eating dinner, then bed. Pinkie's mood didn't lighten up at all.

She couldn't tell which part of the day bothered her the most. When she was in school, everything they learned and did seemed trivial. She got scolded a few times at first, for not paying attention, but Pinkie was a good enough student to bluff her way out of it.

The times she got to spend with her family was mostly exhausting. Her sisters were just as worried as her - both made much less of an effort to hide it - and Pinkie's efforts rarely paid dividends. One day her father actually had a day off. The entire family was so very happy to spend some time together. However, this pleasure was a short one. Clyde was visibly tired from his work and had to spend most of the day resting. The day was over way too quickly.

Then there was also the time spent rock farming. The physical labor was a good method to stop the pink filly from thinking, but the atmosphere during the farming was very silent and depressing. The very look of the barren plains around her home seemed to drain the life out of her.

* * *

Fortunately, over the course of a week the work of a stevedore didn't get harder. Sure, Clyde's muscles were sore after every day, but he was able to pull through the days with ease. Also, with time he got to switch places with the ponies securing the loads, which gave him a good break every once in a while.

He really felt the toll his labor had on his body on his day off. He had promised himself to make up for all the time he couldn't spend with his family, but he ended up sleeping through most of the day and even thereafter he felt too worn out to really do much. All he could hope for, was to make things better the next time around.

Such a possibility came to Clyde sooner than he would have thought. One day the overseer called everypony over, to tell them that a big shipment from Liverfoal wouldn't arrive, since the entire shipment had been destroyed by some creatures they called Parasprites. Basically that meant everypony could go home, obviously without receiving pay for the second half of the day.

“Looks like it will be turnip stew again tonight,” Clyde jokingly said to himself. He wanted to make his way back to the farm, when he overheard the conversation of two other dock workers.

“Did you hear? Allegedly, the shipment didn't arrive because it mysteriously vanished the day before it could be loaded onto the ships. Nobody knows what happened to it,” the first pony said.

The other pony elaborated: “I heard it was stolen. Makes sense, I mean how else could such a huge load of crops just vanish from one day to another? Still, the official version is that some little flying creatures had eaten everything in one night.”

Naturally those words caught Clyde's attention.

He approached the two ponies. “ Excuse me, did you just say strange flying animals ate a shipload of crops meant for Baltimare in a single night?”

The second pony responded: “Yes, at least so I heard.”

“This is very important to me: Please tell me everything you have heard.”

* * *

The information provided by the dock workers wasn't very precise, but Clyde was now sure: The creatures his daughters had found were called Parasprites, and they were the ones that devoured his plants. The farmer pony decided he would need to talk to the overseer, at the very least to get some closure.

On his way, Clyde lost himself in thought: “Liverfoal. Now where was that? It's somewhere near Manechester, I know that much, but is it even part of Equestria? Darn it, I really should remember such things.” Geography had always been a weak point of Clyde Pie.

Clyde spotted the overseer, who was still making arrangements because of the lost shipment, and approached him immediately. “Excuse me sir, do you have a minute to spare for me?”

“Certainly! Just give me a moment until I'm done here and I'll come right back to you Mister … umm... to you.”

To say that pony had a bad memory for names was a gross understatement. At least Clyde really only had to wait for a minute before the overseer was finished.

The overseer politely asked: “So, what can I do for you?”

Clyde felt the need to reintroduce himself. “I'm Clyde Pie, one of the new guys, and I was hoping I could ask you some questions about today's shipment.”

The forepony tried to make a mental note of that name before answering. “Sure, what do you want to know?”

“You told us the shipment was canceled because of Parasprites. What exactly happened?”

“I can only tell you what I've been told by the guys on the other side. They said a load of crops worth several ships mysteriously disappeared over night and they figured Parasprites must have eaten them. They had found a couple of those animals still nibbling on some bags of wheat in the morning.”

“What about those Parasprites?” Clyde grew nervous saying those words. “What do you know about them? What do they look like? Where are they from?”

“Well I don't know that much about 'em, but they look pretty much like flying furballs. I think they are actually from somewhere around Liverfoal. This hasn't been the first time they had a shipment canceled because of some trouble with Parasprites. Oh, and I heard they can multiply at a rapid pace.”

“Have you ever heard of them being spotted around Baltimare?”

“No, they never appeared anywhere around here. I think I would have heard of that.”

“Thank you very much.” Clyde still had lots of questions, but he couldn't put them into words and he wouldn't gain much more information from the overseer.

“You're welcome. Then I'll be seeing you tomorrow, same time as always.”

“Yes. So long!” In his mind Clyde was already browsing through the Baltimare Public Library. An afternoon with his family would have to wait.

* * *

Pinkie Pie was pushing around a couple of rocks to the south field. Over time the rocks had gradually gotten bigger, as if they were really growing. It was more likely that her mother had repeatedly replaced the smaller pebbles with bigger ones, to maintain the illusion.

Pinkie let out a sigh. She had a particularly bad day. Even if she wanted to, nothing would get her to smile. Or so she thought...

Spontaneously, with a loud boom, the sky lit up in the entire spectrum of colors, leaving behind what must have been the biggest and brightest rainbow there ever was. Pinkie Pie's smile grew wider and wider, to a point where it almost physically hurt.

Chapter 5: High or low

“Guys! Did you see that?” Pinkie yelled.

“See what?” Inkie asked.

“There was this loud boom, and then a massive burst of colors, and then a huge giganti-normous pulchritudi-ful magnifi-licious rainbow! It was the biggest I have ever seen! No, the biggest there ever was!” Pinkie now grinned like a Cheshire cat.

Her sisters happily copied Pinkie's smile. “That must have been amazing!” Blinkie remarked.

Pinkie's beam slowly faded. “But you guys missed it. It was the single bestest thing ever, and you missed it. Where were you?”

“We were helping mother prepare lunch.” Pinkie just now noticed that they had slowly been walking towards the storage silo the entire time. “Mother is still waiting for these potatoes.” Inkie saw that her sister's smile had now turned into a full frown. “Don't worry, hearing you talk about that rainbow was great enough, we didn't have to see it.”

Pinkie just stood still, as her sisters went back inside. “But it's not the same. It's not the same as seeing it. I will somehow make it up to them,” she promised herself.

* * *

None of these books were any helpful. Few of them mentioned Parasprites to begin with, and those that did only provided references to a book, which was only available in the Royal Canterlot Archives. Clyde let out a sigh. He had spent several hours in the library and came up with nothing. What did he hope for anyway? Even if he found out anything about the Parasprites, that wouldn't give him his farm back.

He packed up and left the library. Even if he couldn't get his farm back, there had to be some benefit to knowing about those creatures. Maybe he could protect other farmers from suffering the same fate. After all, that was his duty as an upright citizen.

Still, unless he could somehow get to Canterlot, his only clue had come to nothing. It would be better not to obsess over the Parasprites and finally try to spend some quality time with his family.

Clyde managed to get home before dinner, and Inkie and Blinkie embraced him immediately. Only Pinkie seemed somehow absentminded. Maybe she just had a bad day. Maybe she just wanted to be left alone. But he wouldn't let this small misfortune spoil the fun he wanted to have with his other daughters.

* * *

Pinkie had bothered her head all day about how she could make her family feel the same way she had felt, when she saw the rainbow. It had to be something big, something fun, something that lets everypony forget about all their troubles. It had to be a party.

She decided the perfect time for the party would be the day after tomorrow. That would be her father's next day off.

Pinkie wanted to make the party a surprise, and that would be tricky. Obviously, that meant she couldn't get help from anypony and that she would have to do all the preparations in secret. Lucky for her, her mother had already planned to go to the market with all of them tomorrow. Pinkie would just need to fake an illness, then she would have all day to plan, bake, and decorate.

* * *

“I have a tummy ache.” That excuse was foalproof when dealing with her mother. Pinkie had given herself half a day to finish with the cooking and baking. She should probably be able to squeeze in some of the decorating, but that could be left for tonight.

Pinkie had always paid attention to her mother's cooking and picked up most of her traits. She was confident she could prepare something yummy, after all she didn't get born into the Pie family for nothing. First off, Pinkie would make her mother's famous strawberry cheesecake, followed by jelly-filled brownies and cupcakes, lots and lots of cupcakes.

Inside the silo, Pinkie had set up all the food she had cooked, including some apples for good measure, and even set up most of the balloons she found around the house. She could hear her mother's footsteps just outside the door, when the major flaw in Pinkie's plan came to her mind: She would have to keep her family out of the silo for the rest of the day.

The young pony quickly squeezed through the silo's door, alarming her mother: “Don't go in there!”

With a look of confusion Martha replied: “Why not?”

“Well you see...” What could Pinkie possibly tell her mother? “...I've found some rocks... and they... seemed sick. So I decided to put them in the silo until they felt better. They need as much rest as they can get. We can't disturb them.”

“Oh, Pinkamena.” Martha had decided to just walk past her daughter, but stopped dead in her tracks. To the children the rocks must actually be alive, after everything they told them about rock farming. If Martha just went in there she might blow their cover and would have to reveal the truth, at least to Pinkie. Eventually Pinkie would find the rocks looked well enough, and she would put them back. “Well, you're right. We should give those rocks some rest.”

Pinkie couldn't allow herself to show how relieved she was. The party would be a surprise after all. She only needed to put up some additional balloons and streamers around the silo tonight, and she was way too excited to sleep anyway.

* * *

Pinkie Pie had fallen asleep in the barn. Fortunately, it was still early in the morning, so her family was just about to get up themselves.

Actually she could hear them outside, yelling her name. They had probably been worrying about her whereabouts all morning. But she knew a way to fix that. She just played her favorite record on full volume; That was sure to catch their attention.

“Pinkamena Diane Pie! Is that you?” she could hear her mother's voice from the outside.

“Mother! I need you and father and the sisters to come in. Quick!”

As the four of them entered the silo, Pinkie jumped at them yelling: “Surprise!”

Inkie and Blinkie welcomed the party with a big smile on their faces. However, Pinkie's parents just gasped in shock.

Clyde quickly regained his composure. “Girls, I'll have to talk your mother right now. Alone.” Neither his voice, nor his face carried the slightest bit of emotion.

Worriedly, the three fillies obeyed and left the silo. Clyde made sure none of them were eavesdropping. Then he began to speak: “Martha, what are we going to do?”

Martha raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “You're not seriously thinking about punishing her, do you?”

“Of course not, I'm not an idiot. The kid has slogged her guts out to make this party, but still those were our last supplies. Without them I don't think we'll make it to the end of the month. We might have to consider that possibility again.”

Martha sighed deeply. “You're right, we have to. But first let the girls have their party. They are probably worried sick outside.”

Clyde went to the door and a opened it with a quick smile. “Who's ready for a party?”

The three sister immediately dropped their worries and cheerily bounced inside to have that party. As the cake was cut, the entire family witnessed the appearance of Pinkie Pie's cutie mark. It was a set of three balloons, two of them blue, surrounding a single yellow one. Everypony got even more excited, elevating the party to a whole new level.

“They grow up so fast,” Clyde thought to himself. He remembered the day he held the newborn Pinkie in his hooves, like it was yesterday. “Even more reason to party, like there is no tomorrow.” After all, he knew there might not be.

Unbeknownst to all of them, a small flying creature was enjoying the party from the other side of the window.

* * *

The party was an obvious success. The whole family danced, talked, laughed, and snacked on Pinkie's treat until the late afternoon. Clyde had never seen his daughters this happy in his life. He probably himself has never been this happy in his lifetime. Only after the party had ended, he remembered the dreadful decision he had to face.

After a small dinner (everypony was still stuffed from the party), the three fillies went to bed right away. After they fell asleep, Clyde and Martha sneaked upstairs and sat on the side of their daughters' beds, just to watch them sleep.

They must have sat like that for an hour, before Martha broke the silence: “Clyde, we finally have to talk about this.”

“Honey, I don't think we have a choice anymore. We'll have to do it.”

“Don't talk like that! There's always a way!”

“No Honey. We have to do what's best for the kids. I will send a letter to the Cakes right away.”

“But they are newlyweds! Do you honestly think they can handle three little fillies?”

“Yes, I am. They are some of the kindest and most patient people I've ever met. You should know that. After all, they are your cousins.”

Clyde expected his wife to say something, but she just stared at the floor with a worried look on her face.

Clyde tried to comfort her: “Besides, don't underestimate our kids. They've grown up so fast; Pinkie has even gotten her cutie mark today. You'll see. Everything will be okay.”

Those words had the opposite effect of what Clyde had anticipated. Martha was on the verge of tears. The farmer pony decided to keep his mouth shut and simply hold her in his arms until she would feel better.

Chapter 6: Separated

The Cakes wrote back right away. They planned on coming to the farm the fourth day after the party. They also stated that hopefully when they arrived, the Pies would have changed their mind.

The moment Clyde told his daughters was terrible. With a worried look on her face, Pinkie asked if they were being punished for anything. He couldn't bring himself to speak any word after hearing that. Clyde was completely heartbroken. The farmer pony just went over to his daughters to hug them, never wanting to let go.

The dreaded day came. Mr. and Mrs. Cake arrived in a big carriage, ready to take the three fillies away.

Mr. Cake came over to Clyde, making on last attempt to talk him out of it: “You know, if this is just about money, we'd be glad to give you some. Our bakery is going extremely well...”

Clyde stopped him. “It's not about the money. Just... look at this place! This is no place to raise a kid. This wasteland has been sucking the life out of them, out of all of us, this entire time. We just can't do this to them.”

“Then come with us. I'm sure we can make room for you somewhere around the house. Or the store for that matter.”

Clyde shook his head. “I'm afraid I can't do that. Even if it is just a barren wasteland, this is still our farm. And I know Martha will stay by my side no matter what I tell her. I can't leave the farm. I...” Clyde hestitated to provide the reason, but then decided against it. “I just can't.”

“Well, if you change your mind, you know we'd be happy to help.”

At this point Clyde just wanted to get it over with. He went over to his three daughters, hugging them one last time and telling them to take care of each other. Martha quickly babbled as much good advice as she could think to them. Then, the three sisters got into the carriage and were slowly dragged off the farm. Both Clyde and Martha silently gazed after them, even until the carriage had long gotten out of sight.

* * *

Ponyville was completely different from anything Pinkie had ever experienced. Even with how little she noticed her surroundings, she could tell as much. The entire trip the Cakes had tried to reassure and cheer up the three fillies, but of course to no avail. Not even Pinkie could hold back her sadness, even though she would have given anything to raise her sisters' spirits.

They arrived at Sugarcube Corner at last. Under other circumstances the three sisters would have felt like foals in a candy store, since indeed they were foals in a candy store, but all of them simply went straight to their room and started unpacking. Every one of them was unsure what to say or do. Eventually they could talk about their biggest fears and decided that tomorrow might be a good day as any, to get acquainted to their new home.

* * *

It had been three days since their children left. It had been very painful, but Clyde and Martha managed to support each other to a point, where they would still function as ponies.

Whenever the longing was too much, Clyde decided to sit down in the silo and play the Pony Polka on the old phonograph. It had been his daughters' favorite song. Especially Pinkie would always be overwhelmed with excitement, whenever she heard it. Bittersweet memories filled Clyde's head. Memories of the five of them sitting around the dinner table. Memories of him and Martha playing with their children around the strawberry fields. Memories of Pinkie's first day of school – he had been so proud. Even memories of the party, just one week ago. He was so lost in thought, he didn't notice the little Parasprite landing on his hoof.

* * *

The next morning things didn't look so glum. At breakfast, Pinkie and her sisters were even able to smile again. It was a quick, timid smile at some silly antics Mr. Cake was pulling off, but it was a smile nonetheless.

The three sisters decided to take the stroll around Ponyville they had talked about the previous day. They walked by the town hall, not being particularly impressed. They quickly passed by the market place (the sight of all the market stands made them very homesick) and got to what, as of tomorrow, would be their new school. It didn't seem all that bad to the three fillies. Maybe they could get used to this place.

Eventually their walk took them to Sweet Apple Acres. Their mood rapidly declined. With hanging ears, Pinkie shared a depressed look with Inkie and Blinkie. In silent agreement they trotted back to Sugarcube Corner. Despite her best efforts, Mrs. Cake and her cupcakes couldn't perk up the girls.

* * *

As soon as he recognized that thing on his hoof, an immense amount of hatred built up inside of Clyde. Everything had started with those pesky flying furballs, and he would make that one pay for daring to come back.

He quickly grabbed a broom and tried to strike at the Parasprite. The tiny creature backed of in fear. Clyde continued to swing the broom around, but to no avail. The Parasprite was too high up to be hit. The farmer pony angrily tossed aside the broom and let out a frustrated scream. At this point, he was sure the critter was a demon spawn, sent specifically to torment him. He could only lie on the floor and weep.

When he more or less regained his composure, Clyde bothered to look up again. He noticed the Parasprite was still there, now hovering directly above the record, performing what seemed to be a little dance. All his anger and frustration where now replaced by curiosity.

* * *

The first day at a new school was always hard. If there was anypony who could handle a situation like this well, it would be Pinkie Pie. But in her current condition she didn't feel like talking to anypony.

Recess came and the pink filly decided to meet up with Inkie. Inkie was the only pony she would currently feel comfortable around.

She found her sister in the corner of the schoolyard, glumly looking at the ground. Before Pinkie could reach her sister she was already approached by two colts, about the same age as Pinkie.

“What do you think you're doing? This our side of the schoolyard!” the slightly taller colt stated.

“I'm sorry,” Inkie replied anxiously, trying to leave.

“Now hold up!” the second colt demanded. “You don't just get to ruin our day with your dumb frown and expect to get away with it.”

Inkie was now reduced to nothing but a frightened mess. Pinkie quickly rushed to her sister's side, standing up to the two bullies. “Leave her alone!”

“And what if we don't?” the first colt asked.

“Looks like somepony is looking for a fight,” the second one added.

Pinkie would have hated nothing more than to get into a fight. She didn't like confrontation of any sorts and physical confrontation was the worst kind. But Pinkie didn't know any way to get out of this. She prayed for some kind of miracle to save her from this mess.

Any kind of miracle...

“What in tarnation do ya think yer doin'?” The two bullies instantly froze in place. “Ah'm gone for a single month and suddenly ya two start ta act like ya own the place.” Pinkie managed to catch a glimpse of the orange filly speaking those words.

“We're sorry AJ, we didn't want to...”

“Darn right yer sorry!” AJ interrupted. “Now get out of here, unless ya want another meetin' with Bucky McGillicuddy and Kicks McGee.”

The two colts left without another word.

Her savior came over to Pinkie to introduce herself. “Ah'm awf'ly sorry 'bout all the trouble those two caused. The name's Applejack. What's yours?”

Pinkie only managed to answer in a startled voice. “I'm Pinkie Pie and this is my sister Inkie.” The frightened Inkie, still hiding behind her sisters, only allowed herself one quick look at Applejack.

“Pleasure ta make yer acquaintance!” Applejack replied.

Chapter 7: Lack of sleep

Applejack was an amazing filly. The confidence and courage she portrayed immediately impressed Pinkie. She knew from the start that Applejack wouldn't just become another friend of hers; She would become her best friend.

Applejack invited Pinkie and Inkie to her home at Sweet Apple Acres, but the latter didn't want to come along, she was still all shook up from before. It was great to spend some time on a farm again. From Applejack, Pinkie learned everything about apple farming, which obviously was very different from strawberry farming. The biggest difference was, that while strawberries could easily be hoof-picked, apples were too high up in the tree. The tree had to be bucked to bring down the apples.

Pinkie tried applebucking a couple of times, but didn't manage more than to rustle a couple of leaves. Applejack tried to show her new found friend the proper way to buck apples, and brought down half a dozen at once. However, Pinkie was unable to copy the feat. After Applejack told her that her applebucking was nothing compared to what her brother and granny could do, Pinkie decided to simply give up, at least for now.

The rest of the day the two fillies spent with games of tag and hide and seek until the sun was down. When Pinkie was back home, she could not contain her excitement and talked without interruption about her wonderful day. The Cakes were visibly enthralled to see Pinkie happy again.

* * *

Clyde's curiosity had turned into obsession. He skipped work as often as he could, probably risking a dismissal, despite most days being rather slow and many workers being sent home early. Luckily without his children, he didn't have to earn as many bits as before.

In a number of self-conducted experiments, Clyde found out many things about the Parasprite, that he trapped under a washtub. At first, he was scared to feed the creature, for its multiplication could easily get out of hand, but in the end he couldn't bring himself to let the little thing starve to death.

He witnessed three multiplications first-hand. The Parasprites seemed to grow clones within their bodies, that were literally spat out once they had matured. After the initial reproduction they simply stopped. Clyde figured it was because he had stopped feeding them, and he would continue to starve them even if it was morally questionable. Having a horde of gluttonous monsters on the loose was something to be avoided at all cost.

The creatures were easily manipulated by the Pony Polka. Whenever it was played, the Parasprites would cease all activity and fly towards the gramophone, happily dancing to the music. Clyde experimented what he could do with them in this state. He tried picking up the Parasprites and placing them somewhere. They were completely meek and simply sat there, looking with wide, curious eyes back at Clyde. After a couple of minutes they would simply fly back to the gramophone.

Two days without food later, the effects became evident on the Parasprites. They simply went into hibernation to stay alive. After three more days, three of them had died, while the forth one woke up again. It started to chew on the washtub. It felt safe to feed the survivor, so Clyde did just that. He was far from done with his experiments.

All this time, Martha silently watched her husband disappear into the silo and coming out only late at night, denying her all access to the silo in the meantime. He missed many meals. Martha would have been worried about him, if her mind wasn't still occupied with the loss of her little girls.

* * *

Pinkie Pie and Applejack decided to have a sleepover at Applejack's house. Pinkie's sisters again didn't join her, but that wouldn't stop Pinkie. Despite never having slept over at anypony's house, she knew it would be fun.

The two fillies had just started to tell each other ghost stories.

Applejack was narrating: “... and when she opened the door, the ghost of the pony she had met that very day stood before 'er.”

“And she started to giggle at it,” Pinkie interrupted.

“Yeah, she... Wait! What?”

“That's what Granny Pie had always told me to laugh to make your fears disappear. So whenever you see anything ghostly, just giggle at it and it goes away. It really works!” Pinkie explained

“Pinkie, yer ruinin' mah story!” Applejack was visibly unhappy about the interruption.

“Oh! I'm sorry, AJ. Go on,” Pinkie offered with an apologetic smile.

“Nuh, the story wasn't that scary anyway. Ah know a much scarier story that happened on this very farm. It's called “the howl of the timber wolves”.”

Pinkie sat down and listened carefully.

Applejack continued: “Just a month ago, mah Granny Smith started ta hear weird noises from the forests around the farm. She decided ta ignore 'em, but they never stopped. Ev'ry night the noises grew louder and they were accompanied by ear-splittin' howls. One night mah granny swore she coulda heard a voice within, cryin' for help. So she decided to follow 'em 'til the edge of the Everfree Forest. The voice grew louder an' louder. Finally she found a small injured bird on the ground. Both of its wings were broken and showed huge toothmarks. When Granny looked down at the bird and tried ta help it, she heard the loudest, most blood-curling howl ever. She turned around and what she saw almost petrified 'er. She...”

Applejack's story was precipitously interrupted by a howl outside the window. Applejack winced. Pinkie Pie jumped up shouting: “It's the timber wolves! They've come to get us!”

“C-calm down Pinkie. Ah'm sure it's nuthin',” Applejack stuttered.

“But the timber wolves will eat us!”

Applejack had regained her cool. “Whatever happened ta “giggle at the ghostly”?”

Pinkie immediately calmed down and laughed at her own silly behavior. “You're right sorry.” Suddenly an idea came to Pinkie's mind and with a grin she added: “We should totally look for whatever made that howl.”

Applejack looked worried. “Ah dunno, that seems mighty dangerous.”

“Don't worry, I'll be there to protect you,” Pinkie snidely remarked, as she went out the door.

“If there's any protectin' ta be done, it's gonna be me!” Applejack shouted as she followed her friend.

As the two fillies wandered into the pitch-black night, they decided to hold hooves, in order not to lose each other. They heard a second howl.

“This really ain't such a good idea,” Applejack said.

Pinkie Pie, being struck by the spirit of adventure, dragged Applejack behind her. “Come on, there's no turning back now.”

“But what if it comes from inside the Everfree Forest? Granny Smith forbid me ta go anywhere near it.”

“Well in case we reach the Everfree Forest, we will turn back.”

Another howl followed, and another. The howls were continuously getting louder; It seemed whatever the origin of the howls was, it was in great pain. The two fillies intuitively closed ranks. Finally they reached a bush. The source of noise had to be behind it.

Suddenly Pinkie's fear returned. “You go look, Applejack. I'll stay behind.”

Applejack wanted to protest, but didn't. With a simple “okay” she went through the bush.

“AJ? Are you okay?” Pinkie asked into the night.

“Ah'm okay,” Applejack responded.

“Did you find the source?”

“Yes, Ah did.”

“What is it?”

“It's a dog.” She stepped back out from behind the bush, carrying a brown Border Collie with a white underbelly, that wasn't much older than a pup.

“The poor thing is probably starvin',” Applejack told her friend.

“Well, then we better go feed it,” Pinkie replied.

Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and their new friend went back towards the distant farm house.

* * *

After another short day of work, Clyde returned to the silo. He turned over the washtub, but there was nothing in it. In panic, he searched the entire silo, hoping that the Parasprites might still be around. They weren't, the creatures were long gone.

Clyde rushed to his wife. “Martha, honey, have you been to the silo?”

Martha replied coldheartedly: “Yes I have. And I also released those poor things you had trapped under the washtub.”

Clyde's eyes widened in shock. He grabbed Martha by the shoulders. “Honey, do you have any idea what you did?”

Martha backed off from Clyde to free herself from his grip. “No, I don't, and I don't care. I don't care about anything anymore. First I lose my girls, and then I lose you to whatever you were doing inside that silo. Finally I go in there and find those... things. The memories of my girls came back immediately and I just had to get rid of them. It just hurts too much. Its all too much for me.” Martha fell to the floor and started to silently sob.

The sudden realization struck Clyde like a bolt of lightning. At that moment he would have liked nothing more, than join his wife in her sadness on the ground, but he knew he couldn't allow himself to do so. There might be a catastrophe approaching and he would be the only one that could stop it.

He picked up his wife from the ground, kissed her on the forehead, and embraced her afterwards. He gently spoke to her: “I'm so sorry, Martha! I have been a terrible husband and a terrible father these past couple of weeks. I don't know if I can make it up to you, but I will try with all my heart. Unfortunately, there is something I have to do first. Just please, please don't be mad at me.”

Clyde let go of his wife, grabbed the gramophone, and went off towards Baltimare.

Chapter 8: The parting of ways

Initially, Clyde had hoped he might still make it in time, thus having to deal with only a single Parasprite. The road to Baltimare told an entirely different tale. By the number of plants that had mysteriously vanished from the side of the road, Clyde estimated their numbers to be in the thousands.

When Clyde finally reached Baltimare, the city had changed beyond recognition. Market stands were thrown over, only their inedible remains scattered across the streets. Ponies were running wild, either giving chase or running from various swarms of Parasprites. Even a couple of buildings had partly collapsed and a fire had broken out somewhere, as indicated by a cloud of smoke hovering above the city.

Without a moment's hesitation, Clyde turned on the gramophone and held it up high above his head. The desired effect eventuated: All Parasprites ceased their attack and started to follow the music. Eventually, the crazed ponies calmed down and gathered in a cluster of ponies behind Clyde.

The farmer pony knew he didn't have enough time to wander through the entire city; at some point the gramophone's batteries would run out. He had to think of something, and fast. Luckily out of the corner of his eye, he saw a record store.

Clyde put down the gramophone next to the door before he entered the store. To his surprise, an employee was still inside, possibly completely oblivious to the chaos that had struck town.

“I need all your gramophones and all your records of the Pony Polka,” Clyde pleaded.

“Let's see: that would be thirty gramophones and twenty-two records for a total of six hundred and fifty-eight bits,” the clerk reported.

“I don't want to buy them, I need them! There is an emergency! The whole city is in danger!” Clyde explained.

“I can't just give them to you. Mr. Jenkins would be furious. I'd get canned,” the clerk declared.

A voice called out from the crowd, that had stopped in front of the store, quickly making its way to the front.

“This is beyond you or any Mr. Jenkins! The entire city, maybe even the entire country is in danger, and this stallion over here has found a way to stop it. We'll have to take these gramophone, and once all of this is over we will return them. By the love of Celestia, you have my word!”

The crowd agreed by a small number of cheers. By the end of its speech, the voice had made its way inside the shop. Clyde had already recognized it as Long Arm's.

Clyde turned to his colleague. “Thank you, my friend.”

Long Arm responded: “Thank me later, we've got a city to save!”

All gramophones were quickly distributed, as plans were made how to spread them across the city most effectively.

* * *

“I've never done anything like this before,” Pinkie stated.

“It's simple. Ya just spit in yer hoof and shake it,” Applejack explained.

“Yuck! I don't want to do that. We should do it some other way.”

Silence befell the tree house, as the two fillies were thinking of an alternative to seal their oath. The tree house, up in an apple tree in Sweet Apple Acres, was even older than Applejack. It had already been a hideout for her parents when they were young, until some day Applejack inherited it from her mother. Pinkie was now the first friend she dared to bring to this special place of hers.

“Ah know!” Applejack exclaimed. “Somewhere in a book Ah read a special vow ponies used ta take a long time ago. I think it went: 'Cross mah heart and hope ta die'.”

“That's way too dark. We should think of something happier,” Pinkie suggested. “How about: 'Cross my heart and hope to fly'.”

“That would work,” Applejack said with a smile.

Pinkie started to ponder. “I don't know, it doesn't seem quite finished. I think it needs a cupcake somewhere along the lines.”

Applejack laughed: “Oh Pinkie, you're so silly!”

“How about: “Cross my heart and hope to fly and all the cupcakes I will ever eat will be sour and won't taste good at all”?”

“Pinkie, that's just way too long.” Applejack giggled.

“Hmm, you're right. What about: 'Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye'?”

“That's perfect!”

“Okay then, we start at the count of three.”

“One.”

“Two.”

“Three,” both friends shouted at once.

“I promise that Applejack and I will remain best friends forever,” Pinkie vowed, while Applejack made the same promise with Pinkie's name instead of hers.

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” they both continued.

“Now that’s what I call a proper Pinkie promise,” Pinkie exclaimed, earning another chuckle from Applejack.

* * *

With the help of hundreds of ponies, rounding up all the Parasprites had taken no more than an hour. Eventually, all groups gathered in front of a number of empty warehouses in the dock area, as they had previously planned. The Parasprites were secured within these warehouses, disabling them from causing any further damage to the city.

Afterwards, Long Arm personally made sure all the borrowed gramophones were returned to the store and that both, the shop owner and the clerk, got recognition for the vital part they had played.

The rest of the crowd threw a parade for Clyde Pie, who was now deemed savior of the city. This was rather troublesome for Clyde, since all he could think of now was getting back to his wife. Thankfully, the crowd was pleased with a quick speech he improvised, making him free to go.

Just as he was about to leave, a hoof got hold of his shoulder.

“Mr. Pie, I want to talk to you about something,” the stranger attached to the hoof said.

“What do you want to talk about?” Clyde asked.

“We want to offer you a job. We need you. By all means, it will be worth your while.”

* * *

Things were looking up for Pinkie: she had a best friend she would do anything for, she made lots of new friends at school, as well as improving her grades, even her sisters seemed to slowly warm up to their new home.

All the worries and all the fears were now things of the past. The only things on Pinkie's mind were how much cupcakes she could have for dinner, and which ponies she couldn't count among her friends yet. She had even made up with the two bullies from her first day at the new school. Pinkie could certainly get used to her new life in Ponyville.

* * *

When Clyde returned home, Martha had calmed down.

“I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for leaving you, but the entire city was in danger and I knew how to save it. Otherwise I would have never left you!” he began.

“I know. I already heard from the neighbors, I had a lot of time to talk to them. I even know that you are a hero.” Martha gave her husband a weak smile.

“There's more,” Clyde said, “I've been offered a job in Liverfoal. The pay is great and we could get back our children, but we would have to leave the farm behind...”

“...and you just can't do that, can you?” Martha finished his sentence.

“Actually I could, but I was afraid what you would have to say about the idea. After all the farm is your inheritance. It doesn't feel right to just leave it behind,” Clyde informed.

Martha responded: “But just look at this place: This isn't a farm anymore. Nothing is ever going to grow here again. It's unfortunate, but there isn't anything left of what my parents had left for me.”

“So I suppose I should take the job.”

“As long as it gets us our daughters back, anything else is out of the question.”

* * *

Pinkie had slept in, which was a strange occurrence by itself, but on this one of all days, it had to be more than a coincidence. When she did finally go downstairs, she rubbed her eyes in disbelief at the sight the kitchen beheld: The entire family, her parents, her sisters, and the Cakes, sat around the kitchen table, happily snacking and conversing. Pinkie instantly rushed towards her parents to give both of them a hug.

“Mother! Father! What are you doing here?” The obvious first question that popped up in Pinkie's mind.

“We have great news! We've come to get you kids back. We're gonna be a family again” Martha answered merrily.

Clyde continued: “You see, I've been offered a job in Liverfoal, so we decided to move the entire family up there. Well, the Cakes probably won't come along; they have a business to run after all...”

Pinkie was spacing out. Why did it have to happen at a time like this? She had finally acclimated herself in Ponyville. She was getting along in school and even made a best friend. And after that, she would just have to go pack up and leave everything behind in an instant.

Clyde was still talking: “...and they pay me a lot more than before. We'll live in a bigger house. You'll go to a better school. Our new life will be...”

“But I don't want to go,” Pinkie interrupted.

The entire family was dumbstruck. Martha was the first to ask: “What was that, dear?”

“I don't want to go,” Pinkie repeated.

“That's nonsense! Why wouldn't you want to go? Just pack up and in a few days we'll live a better life in Liverfoal,” Martha persistently explained.

“But I don't want to go!” Pinkie cried out. She turned her back on the family and ran out the door. She desperately wanted to be alone right now.

Again, everpony was flabbergasted. After a few moments, Clyde got up to follow his daughter.

* * *

It wasn't hard for her father to find Pinkie Pie. Every passerby had easily noticed a crying filly running along the streets of Ponyville. His pursuit eventually led him to Sweet Apple Acres. The Apple family was very helpful and provided him with unlimited access to the fields. Their youngest child Applejack was eager to help with the search, but Clyde turned her down. He wanted to talk with his daughter in private. There wasn't a whole lot of places where the filly could hide and Clyde soon found Pinkie in a tree house, which had been the Apples' first guess.

Pinkie was cowering in a corner, her knees drawn to her face. She had ceased crying, but her cheeks still bore a couple of tears. Clyde sat down next to her.

“Tell me, sweetie, what has you so upset?” he started.

Pinkie simply gave her father the silent treatment.

Clyde began again: “I'm not mad at you, Pinkamena. I just came here to talk to you. Please tell me what has you so upset.”

Their eyes locked as Pinkie witnessed the sincerity in her father's words.

“Nobody ever asked me what I wanted,” Pinkie began. “I never wanted to move from the farm. None of us wanted to. All of us were only sad when we got here. But then I met Applejack and we became bestest friends, and everything started to get better. I made more friends and got along in school. Now Ponyville feels like a new home and we have to move again and everything starts over. I don't want to be sad again when we move. And I don't want to leave Applejack. It's just not fair.”

At the end, Pinkie averted her gaze back to her knees. Clyde sat there, listening patiently while processing the information.

“But do you really want to stay behind? Aren't you going to miss us?” Clyde asked.

“Of course I'll miss you! But I would also miss Applejack, and the Cakes, and Ponyville, and the others. I don't know! I just don't want to move again,” Pinkie responded.

It wasn't easy, but Clyde made a decision. “I came here to talk you into coming with us, but I won't. I guess that makes me a terrible father. Maybe it makes me a good father. I wish there was an easier way to tell.” He smiled weakly at his daughter, who didn't bother looking up.

Clyde continued: “I always knew you were special. From the moment you were born I knew I would never have to worry about you, you would find your way. You have this amazing gift: You brighten up the lives of all the ponies around you; you always want the best for everpony and they know it and return the favor.”

Clyde concluded:“If you really want to stay in Ponyville you can, as long as the Cakes don't mind. I want you to be happy and I know you will be without us. We'll miss you, of course. But I guess eventually every parent has to part with his children and at least I know you are safe here and have somepony to look after you.”

Pinkie just looked at him with big curious eyes. A sudden urge overcame Clyde to hug his daughter and he gave in.

“I love you, Pinkie! And so does your mom, and your sisters. Don't ever forget that.”

Pinkie returned the hug. “I love you too, daddy!”

“Will you come back to visit?” Pinkie inquired.

“We'll come back to visit as soon as we can. I promise,” Clyde replied.

“Can you Pinkie promise?”

“What's that?”

Pinkie quickly enlightened her father about the promise Applejack and her had made up.

Clyde vowed: “I promise! Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

As the two of them sat in the tree house, clinging to one another, time came to a standstill.

* * *

At nightfall, all the Pies, save for one, were ready to leave. They had spent the remainder of the day with two things: packing their bags and accepting the fact Pinkie would not join them. There had been a heated argument between Martha and Clyde, the first insisting on Pinkie coming along, the latter defending the choice she made for herself. In the end Martha just gave in, trusting in her daughter's ability to care for herself.

The farewell was rather short: There were brief but heartfelt hugs between Pinkie and the Cakes, and everypony else. Few words were spoken; all were at a loss for words, as the speeches of their previous departure from the rock farm still resonated in their heads.

The last to say their goodbyes were Pinkie and Clyde. His parting gift was a kiss on the forehead. One last time they stared in each others eyes, remembering the promise made in the tree house. Then the Pies were off to the harbors of Baltimare, eventually crossing to Liverfoal. Pinkie waved after them until they got out of sight.

Mrs. Cake approached Pinkie. “How are you holding up?”

“I'm fine,” Pinkie answered sincerely.

“And what do you want to do now?” Mr. Cake asked.

“I don't know,” Pinkie replied. “There's still so much of Ponyville to explore. There are still so many ponies here I don't know. I want to be friends with them all!”

The End